The Dimen Dong Folk Chorus in Concert

In many ways, Dong singing is some of the least ‘Chinese’ music in China. Fundamentally, it is the music of a migratory people, with polyphony stemming from an innate sense of community, vocal timbre more characteristic of Balkan than Asian nations, and a cultural frame of reference—from children’s songs to historical epics—that looks well past China’s borders into southeast Asia.

Support provided by the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China and the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Houston. Funded in part by Cathay Bank.

In Guizhou Province village of Dimen, song has long taken the place of the written word. There, young people learn to read and write in the official national language — Mandarin Chinese — but at home they speak in their own tongue: the language of the Dong people.

Recipients of a 2009 Intangible Cultural Heritage designation from UNESCO and a 2012 International Spotlight Award from the White House, the Dimen Dong Folk Chorus is comprised of 14 young people dedicated to the revitalization and promotion of Dong culture through song. Their redolent music is characterized by polyphonic singing, or kgal laox (侗族大歌), and speaks of diverse beauty of rural life.

Asia Society Texas Center is honored to host their Texas debut on a tour that includes performances at the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

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Supported by The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston Arts Alliance, City of Houston, The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, Bank of America, and United Airlines – Official Airline of Asia Society Texas Center.

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